Intertwined
by bellatrixD
Summary: It's the year of the Triwizard tournament and George Weasley is being rather secretive. Fred is attending the Yule Ball with Angelina, George's childhood crush. So who is he to escort? After discovering a mysterious new girl working in the kitchens, George finally may find someone. But what happens when her past is exposed? FredW/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my dears! After my very first one shot I got an idea for a new fanfiction. I was thinking of making it into another one shot but changed my mind as the way I have it thought out would work better as a story. As this is my first story I would really appreciate some feedback. I'll try to update as much as I can but I will need several kick up the bums to keep me motivated and so I know people are actually reading and enjoying it.**

George Weasley trudged through the corridors as he made his way to the kitchens after watching his twin brother fawn ridiculously over _his _crush as he asked her – more like yelled at her – to accompany him to the Yule Ball. Normally, something as petty as a girl wouldn't get between the brothers yet George had found himself thinking more and more about their close friend and Quidditch captain in the past few months. George had, dare he say it, developed feelings for the exotic beauty. He had been formulating a plan to ask her to go with him to the Ball, making sure he had it perfected so she would remember it always. Yet she had bashfully accepted Fred's request. _Bashfully!_ George wasn't even aware she knew the definition of the word. After all, she had barged into the changing rooms many times before with the boys near nude without even batting an eyelid.

But not matter what, he didn't hold it against Fred.

It hadn't been four minutes after the act when George had felt suffocated from the tension in the common room and leapt out the portrait hole in search of a distraction. _And what better distraction than the delicacy of food._

As George entered the familiar Hogwarts kitchens, he wasn't surprised by the hustle and bustle of the busy house elves clearing up the mess from the feast. The house elves seemed rather agitated yet excited to be making foreign recipes and thus offered the Weasley twin something he couldn't even dream of pronouncing. He sat down and waited for his food while drinking a glass of milk and observing the late night activities of the house elves, trying desperately to keep his mind vacant of his counterpart and his crush. He was watching the house elves so intently he hadn't realised his milk had finished and he was now sipping an empty glass and sporting a foamy milk moustache.

The echo of glass shattering snapped George out of his stupor as he looked over to see a crowd of house elves on the far side of the kitchens. Curiously, he walked over to see what had happened and loomed over the small elves, seeing spilt food and broken dishes strewn all over the floor. However within seconds, the elves had cleared up the mess leaving no trace of any shards of glass or bits of food. The tiny house elves were frantic in helping up a 'Miss Evans', pushing George out of the way to do so. His eyebrows furrowed as he saw a girl standing with help from Dobby and Winky. He had never seen her around Hogwarts before.

The house elves went back to their duties and once the crowd had cleared, she had looked up from dusting her clothes to see a lanky red head staring down at her. She stood agape with eyes open as wide as saucers. She anxiously turned away from the boy and tried making her way to…well away from him. Before she could get very far she felt a tug on her arm, stopping her from moving further away.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around before, are you from Beauxbatons? Er…etes-voues…from…de Beauxbatons? School?" he said, mustering up the little French he knew and hoped to Godric he got it right. The last thing he needed was to ask her the colour of her knickers unintentionally.

She gradually turned to face him and peeked at him from under her long lashes, taking in his features. His hazel eyes looked calculating as he tried to identify the petite girl in front of him. His bright red hair lay rugged around his chin as if he had been running his fingers through it repeatedly. His slightly long yet thin nose scrunched up in confusion. She found her throat constricted and couldn't find her voice.

"Err…are you new?" George asked rather awkwardly.

Instead of replying she simply shook her head, paused midway and then sighed.

"Sort of," she replied. George couldn't help but compare her timid and soft voice to the loud barking of Angelina. He shook his head rid of these thoughts and turned his attention back to the girl in front of him as she began wringing her hands in front of her.

"What d'you mean?" George sat down on a nearby bench and patted the seat next to him, suggesting for her to sit. She looked around the kitchens before giving him a small smile and complying, making sure there was quite a bit of space between the two.

"I've been here for three weeks now," she said, avoiding eye contact and instead took to staring at the shiny floor.

"Oh. Ok. What year are you in?"

"Umm…fifth. I think."

George's eyebrows furrowed deeper.

"What do you mean 'you think'?"

"I'm not a student," she replied hesitantly.

At this point George's features were so crinkled in confusion his eyes were barely identifiable.

"Look I'm sorry I should go, I have to work," she stumbled up from her seat and patted down her apron as she began to make her way to a small group of house elves.

"Wait!" George yelled, standing up and extending an arm to her retreating figure. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-I just wanted to-I…work? You work here?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. After a few seconds she composed herself and turned back to where George stood.

"Yes. I do."

"Why?"

"I…because…I-I'm busy right now. I really do need to go, as should you, it's way past curfew," she began to walk backwards before bumping into the corner of a table.

"Tomorrow!" George shouted before thinking.

"What?" she asked, rubbing her sore back where she was sure a bruise was beginning to form.

"How about I come back tomorrow and we can talk then. We can have dinner together, if you'd like," he asked shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

She stared at him, her hand unmoving from her back. _Is he serious?_ Realising she hadn't answered when she noticed a pink tinge creeping up his pale neck she blurted out an answer without thinking.

"Sure."

George sighed in relief and removed his hand from his neck.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then," George skipped backwards, not noticing a house elf kneeling behind him as it tried to clean the floor.

He tumbled back onto the floor and tipped over a bucket of water, spilling all of its contents onto him and the elf. The girl couldn't help but laugh upon seeing George covered in bubbles and looking like a drowned rat. He glanced up at her with a lopsided grin and began laughing as well once he saw his reflection in the puddle of water. The house elf he knocked over scowled and sauntered off away from the hysterical teenagers.

Once she had calmed down she composed herself and strolled over to the drowned red head and held out her hand for him. He looked up at her and allowed her to help him up, only for her to slip on some water and push him back onto the floor with incredible force.

He saw her hair plastered on her face and erupted into laughter once again. George couldn't help but compare her reaction to this scenario with Angelina. He knew of her neatness and how she liked to look her best in front of people and wouldn't particularly enjoy sitting in a pool of water on the floor. She saw him looking at her and cleared her throat after a few moments of silence, blushing ferociously as she untangled herself from George and stumbled onto her feet, careful not to slip on the water again.

"You should go, you'd get in trouble if you're caught out this late."

"Yeah, 'course."

With a flick of his wand, George cleared away the water and jumped onto his feet.

"Well m'dear, was a pleasure meeting you. Until tomorrow," he held his hand out for her and she shyly took it.

"Evans. Ella Evans," she smiled, quoting her name in the style of the famous fictional British secret agent.

"Weasley. George Weasley," he winked at her and slowly retreated out through the portrait and dreamily waltzed back to the Gryffindor common room in a state of euphoria, completely ignoring Mrs Norris as she hissed at him from a corner in the corridor.

He had thought of how different she was to Angelina even though he had only been in her presence for no more than twenty or thirty minutes. He thought of the stark contrast between their skin tones, Ella's being a soft olive whereas Angelina's was a mocha brown. Her eyes a light green unlike Angelina's chocolate orbs. Angelina definitely had a more athletic and taller build compared to Ella's smaller and thinner frame. Angelina's black hair seemed to outshine the straight coffee brown locks of Ella. He sighed. Despite getting along with Ella he couldn't get Angelina out of his thoughts. Of course he didn't _fancy_ Ella, he had no romantic feelings for her whatsoever. But with the upcoming Yule Ball he really needed someone to keep his mind absent of his Barbadian beauty. _Was she even from Barbados? Oh, who cares, it's catchy._

After vigorously comparing the two girls down to any visible facial freckles and the shapes of their eyes (Angelina was physically clear of any freckles and had deep set eyes as opposed to Ella's odd few freckles on her neck and her almond-round eyes, he concluded), George had thought back to their conversation. _She works in the kitchens?_ He couldn't for the life of him figure out why she would be working with house elves in the kitchens. And she had only started recently. What was she doing before? Where did she come from? George found himself increasingly intrigued by the mysterious girl and was thinking up excuses he could give to Fred to explain his absence at dinner the following night.

In no time at all George walked through the portrait of the Fat Lady and was welcomed to a silent common room whose only occupant rested a tall red head lying on the sofa, feet dangling off the arm.

"Freddie, what are you still doing up?"

"George! Where did you go, you left in a hurry," Fred sat up upon hearing his brother and was joined on the sofa moments later.

"Sorry 'bout that, needed something to eat or my stomach was going to ravish itself," George chuckled nervously, only just realising he never got to eat the fancy French cuisine he so desperately wanted to try.

"I wanted to say sorry. I know you like Angelina and I was being a git asking her to the Ball like that in front of everyone. In front of you. I don't know why, it just came out! If you want I'll tell her I changed my mind, first thing in the morning. Or even now if you'd like, you can ask her yourself how you wanted to-"

"No Fred, it's cool, you go with her. She might not want to go with me anyway," George replied cutting Fred off one of his long winded rants. He had to admit, as much as Fred was an insufferable git the majority of the time, he had a heart of gold and always put others before himself (usually after cocking up but he always made sure to make up for it melodramatically).

"Why wouldn't she want to go with you? I know I'm the better looking twin and all but you're not too bad yourself Georgie," Fred smirked.

"I need to know how she feels about me before I try anything."

"How you going about doing that dearest brother?"

"Ah, little brother, you'll have to wait and see for that," George winked tapping his nose as his thoughts drifted to a plan that he had been formulating not long after leaving the kitchens after his encounter with a certain Miss Ella Evans.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter on my second day, don't expect me to keep this up. This chapter involves the past of Ella and...not much else really. BUT it is absolutely necessary for the rest of the story. Again, do let me know of anything. Anything at all. And enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Not doing this every time, just look at chapter one**

George sat down on a bench in the kitchens waiting for Ella to return from her duties, sipping on a butterbeer. All day he had his mind fixated on the girl, even in potions – his one lesson where he and Fred were naturally gifted – he had been so consumed by his thoughts he had almost blown up his concoction. Fred has attempted to question George on his less than normal behaviour in class (and at breakfast, lunch and in two of their pranks George had half-heartedly participated in) before dinner but was given the excuse that George hadn't felt very well. Blatant lie. Their twin telepathy, or whatever it was called, informed Fred that George had something on his mind, and by Merlin, Fred was going to find out sooner or later.

After a few moments Ella came and sat by him, wearing the same uniform from the previous day which consisted of plain trousers, a white t-shirt and an apron.

"What's this?" George asked as Ella placed a plate of what appeared to be cotton balls covered in ear wax in front of him.

"Croquembouche," she replied simply, taking a ball and popping it into her mouth.

"Cocka what?"

"_Croquembouche,_" Ella giggled, accentuating the word. "It's a French dessert. Try one."

George eyed the balls in front of him then slowly extended his hand to grab one. He glanced back at Ella to see her urging him to eat it. He squeezed his eyes shut and ate it whole. Upon biting down on the French delicacy his eyes snapped open. His taste buds exploded with the gooey sensation of meringue combined with the sugary sweetness of hardened caramel. Ella stared at his melodramatic expression and laughed to herself as George ate meringue after meringue.

"Sho, Ella, fanks for the bawls," George mumbled through the last ball of meringue.

"You eat like a pig," she replied, scrunching up her nose upon seeing him wipe his face with the sleeve of his yellow and green striped shirt.

"Cheers love. So. How are you?" George asked as he turned to lean his back on the table, spreading his arms out behind him.

"I'm ok. Busy day and all. You?"

"Well Ella, my day hasn't been too bad despite the fact that there's been this niggling in my head all day. Care to ease the pain?"

Ella sighed before playing with her fingers in her lap. "What do you want to know?" she asked timidly, knowing the peace wouldn't last for very long.

"Why do you work in the kitchens?"

"Dumbledore offered me a job and I took it," Ella replied curtly, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, why'd he offer you a job?"

Ella took longer responding to this question. She counted to ten and let out a long breath, mumbling her answer so quietly George had to ask her to say it again. Straining his ears so he wouldn't miss the answer, he gasped in surprise.

"You're a _what_?"

"I'm a squib."

She turned her face away from his, not bearing to look at the shell shocked expression he wore. She had only ever told two people what she was: Dumbledore and another professor whose name she couldn't remember. Of course, she had to explain to the house elves what she was as well, why else would a girl be working in the kitchens of one of the best and most famous wizarding schools in the world other than the fact that she possessed no magical properties of her own?

"Wow. That's, uh…But that still doesn't explain why you're working here," George said feeling really awkward. He had never come across a squib his age before. Or any age apart from Filch. He didn't know how to deal with it. He was rather dumbfounded that he hadn't realised before. _Why else would a teenager be working in Hogwarts kitchens?_

Ella didn't reply. She kept her gaze on the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise-that was _really_ quite personal, don't reply-I mean you can if you want to but-what am I saying, of _course_ you don't want to-ah I'm so stupid!" George fumbled with his words. His obvious uneasiness becoming apparent. Ella couldn't help but smile and turned to look at him mouthing profanities to himself.

"It's ok, I don't mind."

George suddenly stopped his silent rambling and turned to see her looking at him. She looked scared. No. _Terrified_. She was terrified of his reaction to what she was going to tell him. He smiled softly at her, encouraging her to continue.

"I was a little girl when I found out. My parents are purebloods, they came to Hogwarts and were both in Slytherin. Being their first child, it was expected of me to carry on the legacy," she stopped and her eyes flickered to see George's expression upon hearing of her family's tradition on being sorted into Slytherin. He was impassive.

"Well, as you know, most magical kids show some magical tendencies when they're young, small things like making food disappear or making toys fly. When I didn't do any of those my parents just thought I was a bit slow. But they had their suspicions. They'd tell all their friends I had done something or another with magic and I had to make up stories in front of them so as not to disappoint my parents. I felt like such a disappointment.

"It was after my little sister was born that everything went sour. Her magic showed at only four years. She had wanted a bed time story one night and flew a book to her bed. My mum saw and couldn't believe her eyes. She immediately turned to me and asked if I had done that. I was eight when that happened. The next day I could hear my mum telling my dad that it was my sister and how it was definite my magic wouldn't be showing. That night they both confronted me. I'd never heard them yell like that before," Ella had a dazed look on her face as she told George of that day. She had let herself open and everything came flooding out. She couldn't stop herself even if she wanted. Noticing her discomfort, George made to stop her but she continued.

"They told me how I was dishonouring the family. How I wasn't good enough. They blamed me for not being the perfect Slytherin daughter. An _eight_ year old. I didn't even understand what they were talking about. They kept calling me a stupid squib, shouting it whenever I didn't respond to one of their questions. All I could do was cry. I cried so much over how I disappointed my parents and I begged them to tell me how to make it up to them. But being the _Slytherins_ that they were they wanted nothing to do with me. So they did the first thing they could think of," she spat out, glaring down at her hands.

"They dumped me out on the streets. No clothes, no food, nothing. I was living rough for a few days, wandering alleys and markets, begging for meals. I'm sure house elves were treated better than I was. Anyway, a few days later I collapsed in front of a shop. It was late January so there was a bit of snow. It was freezing and I didn't even have a coat. I hadn't eaten properly in days. That was when someone found me and took me in. He was a nice man. In his eighties I'm sure, no kids of his own and his wife was terminally sick. Still, they took me in and cared for me like I was their own, not once judging me for not being magical. She died when I was twelve and he died last year. Dumbledore had heard of me and once he found out both my carers had passed, he took it upon himself to take me in. I sold the house we lived in as soon as I heard of the offer and left. And that's how I got here."

Ella finished her story and turned to see George. He had been silent the entire time, digesting all the information that flew out of her mouth. He looked to be deep in thought. Moments had passed and neither of them made a move. The stillness was becoming unbearable and Ella began to fidget under the tense silence.

"That must've been hard for you," George let out quietly, gazing intently at Ella with an unrecognisable expression plastered on his face. "I can't even begin to imagine how awful that was, for an _eight_ year old as well! That's bloody foul I tell you, no child should have to go through that."

At this point George was on the brink of shouting. His temper had risen terribly once he imagined Ginny in her position, being thrown out by her parents without a second glance, abandoned to the cruel world she had no knowledge of.

Ella noticed the flaring of his nostrils, the whiteness of his clenched fists and the red tinge swimming up his face. She recalled the similar features taken on by her father when he had hit her, yelled at her for being a _stupid squib._ She flinched involuntarily as George raised his hand to his hair and his face immediately softened as he saw her hunching over beside him.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. It's ok," he breathed. He didn't allow himself to hold her as much as he impulsively wanted to do; he always held his female friends when they were distressed. But he knew she probably would've cowered even more, afraid of the physical contact that once upon a time consoled her through the night, until she was thrust into a cold world all alone.

A few sniffles left her and she wiped at her eyes violently, embarrassed that she had let her guard down and displayed her emotions so freely to someone she barely knew.

"Anything else you want to know?" Ella asked feebly.

George smirked. This mysterious girl in front of him had unleashed her unconventional past to a stranger. This lonely marvellous girl. He was determined to fix her in the only way he knew how: through laughter. But first, he would get to know every little thing about her. _By George I think I've done it…no pun intended_, he snorted to himself and asked question after question to the sobering Ella as he continued devising his plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm on a role. Seriously I did this chapter in only a few hours because I was determined to get another chapter done. Not much happens in this chapter I'm afraid but I do hope you enjoy. Please please please review as I have no bloody idea whether you guys like this or not (I'm hoping you do but I also hope to one day get married to James Phelps - hoping only goes so far guys!) **

**I also want to know if these chapters are long enough? I know they're only a couple of thousand of words but some people like really long chapters and others don't so again, review me your preference peoples!**

Weeks had lapsed since Ella revealed her past to the charming red head and the remaining remnants of the mild summer air had departed completely, now replaced by the chill of winter. The kitchens were kept toasty at all times due to the constant heat emitting from the ovens and cookers, thus leaving Ella no need to bundle up in layers for warmth.

George had made sure to visit her often, admittedly not as much as she'd like, but he had promised not to tell anyone of the squib working in the kitchens, and therefore couldn't come up with enough excuses to see her every day without arising – much - suspicion. Fred had made many attempts to accompany George on one of his kitchen rendezvous but was shrugged off every time. Hogwarts itself even seemed to wish George his privacy with Ella as Fred was suddenly in high demand. Whether it was detentions, students calling for him, pranks or Professor's needing his 'assistance' in one way or another, Fred was always swept away from George before he could even mention the kitchens.

Following the divulgence of Ella's childhood, George had made sure to keep her in high spirits, asking her questions varying from, "d'you think vampires get AIDS," to, "how do you catch a chicken surrounded by garden gnomes with only a saucepan," (the latter being somewhat serious as Molly Weasley had tasked George with this the previous summer and it had ended up disastrous).

After every visit, Ella had become more and more relaxed around George and her shyness had started to withdraw in his presence. She participated in his jokes and random quirky dances and even comforted him when he was in a less than joyful mood (which seemed to be as rare as a blue moon). She had been informed of his large family and loyal friends, The Boy Who Lived, and the snooty bookworm known as Hermione Granger who were practically family to him. Dumbledore had notified Ella of the Triwizard Tournament and the Yule Ball, yet George babbled on about the upcoming dance, sometimes glowering and other times seeming rather…hopeful? Ella couldn't put her finger on it but was delighted to hear about it all the same. She had missed the social interaction of someone her age and found great comfort in his company.

"So Elle-bells, you looking forward to the Christmas holiday?" George asked one night as he ingested a trifle, something he was far more familiar with as opposed to the French and Bulgarian treats he had been acquainted to in the past few months.

"Not much to look forward to. The atmosphere is great an' all but it's going to be more or less the same as every other day. I'm sure you have more to be excited about," Ella shrugged, taking smaller bites of the creamy dessert.

"Only the presents really. We're not going to the Burrow for the holidays this year so none of mum's cooking to look forward to. Other than that we just do what we normally do."

"And what is it you normally do Mr Weasley?" Ella inquired.

"Well m'dear, the usual snowball wars, pranks, Hogsmeade trips. Nothing big. And then there's the Yule Ball nonsense to put up with as well," George groused, glowering into his almost finished trifle which now resembled a custard and jelly mess.

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think," Ella rolled her eyes, knowing full well George's crush was off limits, "you might even have fun if you stop sulking like a big baby."

George grumbled under his breath and was met with custard to the nose in response. She had become frustrated with his pessimism to the ordeal and burst out laughing upon seeing his bemused face.

"Oh you're getting it now, Ella," he smirked.

In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the remains of his trifle in one hand and smeared it on her face and through her hair, removing several strands from her messy bun in the process. She emitted a squeal and began swatting his hands away. George, expecting this reaction, grabbed her wrists with his other hand and continued to slather her. Trying to get as far away from his attacking hand as possible, Ella scooted back on the bench. George leaned over, keeping contact with her face. As he continued his trifle assault, Ella tipped off the end on the bench, falling ungracefully to the floor and pulled down George with her.

"Ouch," Ella groaned, nursing her sore head as she lay on the floor.

"Double ouch," George grumbled from atop Ella.

His face nestled in her dishevelled hair, he couldn't help but smell the enticing scent of her: vanilla and strawberries with a hint of perfume.

"George ger'off, you're crushing my lungs."

He languidly shifted his weight onto his hands on either side of her head. Wiping the cream from her eyes, Ella looked up to see George gazing intently down at her. Moments passed with them just staring. Neither of them making any move to remove themselves from the floor.

Ella took this moment to really _look_ at George Weasley. She saw his pink lips parted slightly, wafting her face with his sweet breath. His long thin nose, littered with freckles that spread over onto his rosy cheeks, mere millimetres from her own. His long red curtaining his face. The flickering embers of light dancing in the shadows of his hazel eyes as they shifted over her face, drinking in all her features. There was no doubt he was attractive – albeit not as attractive as the muggle celebrities she'd heard of that primped and preened themselves daily, but attractive nonetheless in his own sense.

Reminiscing over the period of time they'd got to know each other, she found herself incredibly trusting of George. It had taken her _months_ to completely open up to her previous carers, yet she spilled the repulsions of her past to him on their _second day_ of knowing each other. She couldn't make sense of it. All she knew was that she trusted him. He was kind and caring, listening to her woes patiently. He was funny and amiable.

But despite all this she held no romantic feelings for the boy. She viewed him in a wholly platonic sight.

A mumbling broke Ella out of her stupor and she gazed disconcertedly up at George standing above her now with his hand waving in front of her face. _I must've really been out of it_, she thought as she allowed him to yank her up from the floor.

"You 'kay sleepyhead? Dreaming about a certain red head were we?" George winked.

He pulled out his wand and with a swish, cleared the mess on the floor and then themselves. Ella smiled in appreciation, knowing she could go straight to bed after their meeting instead of worrying about cleaning the clutter by hand.

"You wish," she scoffed.

"So will you?"

"Will I what?" Ella turned to him in bewilderment.

"Did you hear a word I said?" George smiled, knocking her head gently with his fist. She swatted his hand away.

"Sorry, just thinking about things."

"That can't be good."

"Oh shush. What did you want to ask then? I give you my full and undivided attention."

"Well m'dear, I was wondering whether you would do me the honour of gracing me with your presence at the Yule Ball," George rubbed the back of neck, a nervous habit of his she identified.

Ella was speechless. He wanted to go with _her_ to the ball? She couldn't comprehend it.

"You're not dozing off on me again are you? Look I'm sorry I asked, you probably don't want to go- just forget it-"

"George. _George!_" she yelled, grabbing his shoulders as he began pacing in time with his ramblings. In an instant he stopped and awaited her response. "I don't even know if I'm allowed to-"

"Yes you are!" he yelled, interrupting her query, "I went to Dumbledore straight after classes today and asked him. He said it was absolutely fine."

"Dumledore knows you come down to the kitchens?" Ella arched an eyebrow, looking sceptically at George's hopeful expression._  
_

"Oh- I didn't think about that," he trailed off, presumably thinking about his encounter with the Headmaster before looking back at Ella, puffing his chest out and pointing his thumb to himself "Well he seemed ok with it. He should know by now that there's not stopping the Weasley's from getting into the kitchens. He's probably known for ages now anyway."

"Oh. I see. Well, er- I don't have a suitable dress. I can't exactly turn up in _this _now can I-?" Ella gestured to her uniform and pinched her apron with her index finger and thumb in disgust.

"I'll buy you a dress from Hogsmeade. No problem. Hell, I'll even make sure I make it match with my dress robes. So, whaddya say? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a sugar quill on top?" George sat on his knees, intertwining his hands together in front of him and put on his famous Weasley puppy-eyed pout. How could she possible say no to _that?_

Ella bit her lip, thinking of any other reason as to why she should stay in the security of the kitchens. No one would recognise her. Everyone would be staring at the mysterious new girl. George would have to introduce her to his friends and siblings and they would most likely hound her seeming as George hadn't mentioned her at all to them. Thousands of thoughts swam around her head. _Would they hate that I'm a squib? Would they make fun of me? But I don't know how to dance. I'm going to trip and fall on my face and embarrass not only myself but George as well. I don't have any fancy shoes or make up, I can't even walk in heels for goodness sake, how can he possibly expect me to twirl around in them for hours on end._

Despite all the negative thoughts, she found herself blurting out, "yes," amongst the barrage of chaos in her head. George grinned, the smile lighting up his face as he twirled in a circle with his arms above his head. Ella couldn't help but beam at his reaction.

"Oh yes! Thank you! This is going to be fantastic, I promise you, you'll have an amazing night. D'you want me to get the girls down to help you get ready?"

Ella's eyed widened promptly. "_NO!_ Er- no, I can manage. The house elves can help me. I'd rather meet your friends all at once."

"If you're sure. Oh boy, I need to tell Freddie and Lee I've got a date- don't worry, I won't say who, they can keep guessing until they see you," George winked.

"Um George? There's something else," Ella said feeling embarrassed and began playing with her fingers, a nervous habit of hers.

"Was'sup Ells?"

"I can't dance," she whispered so quietly she was sure George didn't hear her.

She lifted her head when she saw him trying to stifle his laughter by biting his lip. When a chuckle escaped his lips his hand shot out to cover his mouth.

"What's so funny?" she suddenly felt defensive. _Was it really that weird not being able to dance?_

"No- nothi- nothing Ella, s'jus' I- I can't-" his laughter got the best of him and soon he was doubled over, clutching his stomach. Ella furrowed her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips.

"Spit it out, Weasley."

Wiping his tears away he replied, "Oh my dear, sweet, naïve Ell-Bells, dancing is _not _a problem I can assure you. Don't worry about that. Now then, I believe this is the part where you bug me about being out so late after curfew and how I should 'return to the safety of my dorm away from the lurking evil monstrosity known as Filch and his feline apprentice Mrs Norris'?" he smirked, quoting a phrase of Ella's she had used many times before to get him to return to bed. She simply pouted in return.

"Whatever. And you know I'm right, Filch would do anything to get your arse on his mantelpiece."

"That you are m'dear. And what a fine choice for a mantelpiece, if I do say so myself," George winked, shaking his rear-end for emphasis,"Well then I bid you goodnight. The next few days are going to pretty hectic so I'll come and see you when I've got your dress. Any specific colour?"

"Nothing fluorescent or pink. Or yellow. Or lime green. You know what, either dark blue or black. Or maybe red- a dark red."

"As you wish m'lady," George mock bowed, chuckling slightly at the nervousness seeping out from the girl, "Sleep tight Ella."

"G'night," Ella waved as he sauntered off out the portrait hole of the fruit bowl; the entrance to the kitchens.

_A ball._ A fairy tale princess's dream. Growing up a squib, Ella found herself deeply entranced by muggle fairy tales and swooned over the handsome prince sweeping his princess off her feet and dancing through the night under the moonlit sky. Sadly, she was no princess – especially in the wizarding world. And George wasn't her prince.

Sighing, she made her way to her bed and stripped off her uniform and into her pyjamas. As she settled under her covers her mind drifted to the fairy tale that seemed to encompass her life within seconds: Cinderella. It wasn't her favourite (she highly favoured Beauty and the Beast) but it was beautiful nonetheless. She imagined finding her prince, who in amidst to spend the rest of his life with her would pursue every nook and cranny of the castle and nearby towns after their long night of dancing, praying he would be reunited with his princess. However their love would go through trials and tribulations as many of the other maidens would stoop as low as possible (and even more if they could) to get their hands on the desirable man. Yet his heart would long only for her and would immediately differentiate the imposters to his love._ That's bloody likely, _she scoffed.

That night she dreamed of music, and dancing, and flowing ball gowns. She dreamed of her prince- tall, dark and handsome (and slightly rugged – no one likes a pretty boy). She dreamed of chiming clocks and meddling witches. And lastly, she dreamed of a kiss under the twinkling stars against the blanket of the midnight sky.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys! It would have been up sooner but *insert plausible excuse that won't get me killed***

**In all seriousness, my laptop broke and now have to share with my brother who's constantly using it for his university work (ugh) and I've had to rush finishing this so I do apologise for any mistakes. Thank you to everyone who favourited/followed/reviewed, I love you. Seriously, it motivates me to write, so more of those, the quicker I update (no pressure).**

**And now, on with the chapter!**

Hushed voices awoke Ella from her slumber. She wasn't sure what time it was; she had only intended to get a power nap as she dwelled over the upcoming Yule Ball and always woke in a daze as if waking up for the first time ever. She could tell it was well before breakfast though, as the chilly air crept into the few gaps made by her sleep induced body tossing and turning through the night, prompting goose bumps to appear on her bare legs. The hustle and bustle of busy house elves became apparent but there was also a few other voices she could not decipher. She stilled in her bed, straining her ears to hear who the guests were and what they were discussing in the early hours of the morning. Her covers slowly drooped down her body as Ella sat up, stifling a yawn so as not to attract any attention even though she wasn't particularly close to the kitchen door.

Slipping on her slippers, she gently moved from her bed and sidled to the door, pressing her ear to the cool wood to listen. She recognised the voice of a familiar house elf, Dobby, she believed, who was proclaiming proudly about his freedom to a few other elves and to the newcomers. Dobby was a rather sore topic for the other house elves, as his freedom was found offensive to the species. Ella never really understood their distaste for the little elf's obsession on wages, but she steered clear of the subject so as not to offend her unconventional co-workers. She had found herself on the opposing end of the obliging elves insistence to offer her food when she wished, much to her protest, her argument relying on the fact that they were not only colleagues but friends as well, and friends didn't go around serving each other with a click of their fingers. The elves had eventually ceased their persistence in trying to serve her over time but still offered help whenever she desperately needed.

"NO," a high voice whimpered, grabbing Ella's attention back to the conversation as her eyes snapped open as they had begun to droop. She instantly identified the voice to be Winky's, Barty Crouch's former snivelling house elf.

The voices were lowered in volume again. Tilting her head through the tiniest of cracks in the door, she saw a mane of long bushy brown hair, a head of fiery red hair similar to that of George's but somewhat lighter, and a head of dishevelled raven hair. All their backs were turned to her, blocking her view of their faces.

The shrill voice of Winky alerted Ella of their discussion, something she avoided like the plague. Nearby house elves scurried away from the group, escaping to the corners of the kitchen or departing to their shared dorms. Ella had stepped back as a few elves ran to the sanctuary of her dorm, hugging her close upon seeing her to ease their worries.

"Shh- shh, it's ok Bonnie, calm down love," she cooed into her little friend's large ear as she sobbed into her stomach.

"Miss Ella, that- that girl is saying to Dobby to rebel against Sir Dumbledore she is. Saying to get a wage for working so hard. She is not good to us Miss Ella- please, she must stop! She speaks of working and helping to get us elves money for work- she is mad that girl, mad!" Bonnie cried, burying her face further into Ella's abdomen. Ella couldn't find any words so simply whispered sweetly to Bonnie, stroking her head in gentle motions as a mother would to a distressed child.

Moments later Bonnie had composed herself and retreated back to the kitchen, working as far away as possible from the conversing group as possible. Ella watched from her stance in the crack of the door until the trio left. She had noted the time and drifted to sleep before she would have to wake up again. Being a squib working amongst elves, she noticed she had very little work to actually do. The elves felt tremendously guilty for her to be with them and made sure to ease her workload, claiming it was not right for her to be doing so in the presence of the elves whereas they were duty bound to be doing such.

Dinner had ended and all the dishes were cleared and set away, leaving Ella to wait for George. It was the night of the last Hogsmeade weekend before the Ball and George had promised to present her with the dress he had chosen. She sat picking at her nails in anticipation; she had never dressed up before so elaborately. Of course, before she was humiliated and disowned, she had attended a fair few fancy social gatherings with her parents but she had never been old enough to worry about her appearance or whispering gossips. This fact alone had her shivering in fear.

The portrait door swung open and a figure climbed through. Ella turned her face to see the absence of the red hair she was expecting. Her eyes widened in horror as she met similar doe eyes staring back at her.

"O- oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise there was anyone in here. I- I'll just go," the girl in front stammered in shock. Despite her claim to leave she made no move to do so. Instead, she stood fixed to the spot and studied the girl sitting on the bench.

"Erm- hello," Ella said timidly.

The bushy haired girl continued to stare at her. Finally shaking her head, she held out her hand, "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?"

Ella took her hand and shook it gently, "Ella."

Hermione perched herself on the bench next to her and began a conversation much like the one Ella had had with George when they had first met. She asked question after question, barely stopping to catch her breath.

After ten minutes, Ella had grown tired of the girls questioning and was bordering on the edge of screaming until the portrait door slammed open, ricocheting off the wall and back, hitting the person in the face. Hermione had silenced herself and gazed bewildered at their visitor.

"Ah- Bloody hell," a deep voice exclaimed as the familiar figure of George clambered into the kitchen, carrying a single bag.

"George?" Hermione's voice rung out. She stood up at crossed her arms over her chest, fixing an accusing glare at the lanky red head who had stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the two girls.

"Hermione! What a pleasant surprise it is to see you down here," George said, shocked at the presence of the studious fourth year.

"As I recall you and Fred told me how to get here to see the elves. Now why are you here? And what's that you're carrying?" Hermione replied.

George's eyes flicked back and forth between Ella and Hermione, mumbling incoherently, trying to figure out what to say. "Er- well, this is uh- I'm here to, I was just-"

"He's here to help me," Ella answered on behalf of her babbling friend whose ears had coloured a bright red.

The petite girl furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Ella. "What do you need his help for? He's not exactly the most helpful person in Hogwarts, he is _George Weasley_ after all, wait- why _are_ you helping her George?"

"Sit down Hermione and I'll tell you everything," Ella sighed.

The girl in question eyed Ella and George warily as they fidgeted under her gaze before complying and returning to seat on the bench, George following seconds after.

What felt like hours later but was surely no more than twenty minutes, Ella's account was retold by both herself and George with Hermione listening intently and holding onto every word. Ella wasn't as worried as she thought she would have been by conferring her life to a witch, and she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders once Hermione had overcome the shock and jumped in glee and awe. Once Hermione had calmed down, she observed George once more wondering why he was there. Voicing her thoughts, she was answered with the truth of Ella being his date to the Yule Ball, bringing their attention back to the bag he had dropped to the floor.

"Come one then, let's see what you got!" Hermione animatedly exclaimed gesturing to the bag she shoved in George's hands.

He stood up and grabbed the soft garment from the bag, teasingly drawing it out and in front of the girls. The bag flew to the floor and Ella gawped at the material George held out in front of himself.

Silence ensued. The only noise in the kitchen came from the busy elves but even that was drowned out as the girls were solely focused on the dress draped in front of their eyes. The dress – if you could call it that – was black, Ella's colour preference, but otherwise resembled the apron Ella adorned as part of her uniform. The sparkly material was blinding and she was sure modesty wasn't on the agenda when the designer had made the dress; there was no way the dress was going to cover her arse. The black feathers that enveloped the garment made the dress appear incredibly flashy and she wondered momentarily if the dress was in fact a costume for Halloween, that is if girls aspired to look like a whorish raven.

Words abandoned Ella. Hermione eventually broke the sickening silence, not bothering to mask the disgust apparent from her voice or her expression. "What in _Merlin's_ name is _that?_" she all but shrieked.

George not yet realising the disaster of his choice grinned, "So whatcha think Ella? Do you love it or what?"

"Love it? Love _that!_" Hermione shrieked, "are you out of your mind? That is absolutely-"

"Um- George?" Ella interrupted, foreseeing the elaborate response Hermione was no doubt ready to shoot at George. "Don't you think it's a little, well, tarty?"

George's face dropped instantly. He looked down at the dress scrutinising every detail before pressing it against Ella's figure. His eyes widened in horror as he noticed the shortness of the dress.

"Oh sweet Merlin- I'm so sorry Ella, it looked way better in the shop! I didn't realise how tall you were- or er, how short this was," he rushed, thrusting the dress away from the startled girl and into the bag.

The evening was filled with petty remarks from Hermione about George's fashion taste whilst he in turn apologised abundantly, Ella brushing it away every time and attempting to maintain the peace. The discussion came to a close when Hermione's most acknowledged attribute surfaced. She raced to the Gryffindor common room and returned with an invisibility cloak (which Ella openly gawked at – Hermione _disappeared!_) and formulated a plan to go to Hogsmeade with George to get her a new dress immediately. Before she could utter a word, the duo had left, leaving Ella to herself.

The young squib's thoughts drifted to the Yule Ball again as she sat biting her nails; her mind increasingly wandered to the magical event since she had been asked to attend. Her mind took a turn when she thought about Hermione. It had seemed like a dream, meeting a witch who seemed so excited to meet her and know about her. Never had she thought she would befriend anyone let alone in the matter of minutes. At least now she would know someone other than George at the Ball so she would presumably feel a bit more comfortable. And perhaps Hermione would offer her some assistance in preparing beforehand with her appearance. God knows she needed it.

In what seemed like no time at all the two returned with a single bag much similar to the one George had presented earlier. The dress, no doubt Hermione's choice, was much more modest in comparison to the previous one, and perfect in every aspect. Ella had thanked them both incredulously, not believing the wonderful garment displayed to her was actually hers.

The entire week had Ella in the clouds. The Yule Ball was slowly inching closer and closer, leaving Ella restless and jittery. Every night she would stare in awe at her dress, not daring to touch it in fear of wrecking it, even with a simple touch. Ghosting her fingers over it was even too much of a risk. Bonnie had expressed her elation to the young girl, staying up with her many nights discussing the events soon to come. Ella had enlightened the little house elf with fairy tales and found herself reiterating Cinderella over and over again as her magical friend listened intently, laying on the bed and leaning on her elbows, sighing in bliss after hearing the kiss. Cinderella was by far her favourite; the story of a poor maid magically transforming into a princess and living happily ever after. Oh, how Bonnie wished for Ella to fall into the steps of the fairy tale princess, Merlin knows she deserved it.

And before she knew it, it was the night of the Yule Ball.


	5. Chapter 5

**I. Am. So. Sorry! There is no excuse as to my absence (exams, revision, my brother hogging the laptop _again_, writers block, 18th birthday). I felt terribly guilty for not updating sooner so I rushed to finish this and get this out to you. I'm splitting the Yule Ball in half, this being part 1, and I'm also bringing in some George pov! There is also the first appearance of Fred in this (FINALLY).**

**I'm sorry if this is absolutely rubbish (like I said, I rushed this) so please do leave some feedback and thank you to everyone who followed/favourited/reviewed. Remember, the more of those I get the more motivation I have to update faster.**

**Edit: a few minor changes**

_Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out…breathe in- OUCH!_

"Hermione!" a shrill gasp escaped Ella as she yelped in pain for what seemed to be the hundredth time that evening, her head snapping back in accordance with the pulling of her hair.

"Sorry Ella," Hermione apologised _yet again_ as she fiddled around with the lock of Ella's hair that had become tangled.

The girls sat in Ella's dorm by the kitchen preparing for the Yule Ball. Hermione had charmed her usual bushy mane into silky curls, pinning it up into an intricate up do but leaving a ringlet free to hang over her shoulder. After she had prepped her hair and make-up, she moved on to Ella who had in the meantime, been watching her friend's magic intently.

"Hermione, what in God's name are you doing to my hair- _ow!_" Ella whimpered impatiently as her head began to throb under the yanking fingers of Hermione. _Who knew such dainty fingers could be so dangerous_?

"I'm trying to get your unruly hair under control but, Merlin why is it so hard." For the week Ella had known Hermione, she had never seen her so agitated before, and going by how George described her, she was only ever like this before an exam even though she was probably the most prepared student.

Ella peeked out from the corner of her eye to Hermione who was beside her and had to stifle her laughter upon seeing her reddened cheeks, narrowed eyes and furrowed brows. Her hair had been charmed to avoid frizz but Ella was sure under normal circumstances her hair would have been unleashed into its usual mane by now, raised by the static energy emitting from the petite girl.

"So you never did tell me why you agreed to go to the ball with George?" Hermione began the conversation, gently prying her fingers through the dark tresses of Ella's hair.

"Well, he seemed nice and it gives me a reason to go and see the rest of the castle I guess."

"But_ George _of all people!"

Ella snorted at Hermione's shocked tone, one she had heard many times from her Gryffindor friend when Ella had complimented the ginger in some way.

"Yes Hermione, George Weasley. It's not like anyone else could've asked me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Ella," Hermione breathed out,"I completely forgot! It's just, you don't seem very different to all the other witches, well, that's a lie, you're _way _better than those- those…anyway, what I mean to say is, I'm sure boys better than George would've been falling at your feet to ask you out. Not that George isn't somewhat decent! I-"

"Hermione!" Ella chuckled, cutting the girl off from her rambling knowing she could go on forever after ignoring George's pleading and listened to her opinions and views on the history of house elf rights over the years and how they should be more attuned to muggle standards of laws in regards to slavery. "It's fine. I completely understand. And I know all about the infamous George Weasley thanks to yourself so no need to worry about scaring me off from him, he's nice enough. Now, enough about me and my oh-so gorgeous date, tell me about yours." With a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows, Hermione was off again on her burly date, all the while harbouring a steady blush on her cheeks.

Once Ella's hair was under control, she had steadily moved onto her make-up, lightly slapping her hand every time she went to rub her eyes or lick her lips. She began to think of the castle and whether it would be as she imagined it to distract herself from the tickling brushes sweeping over her face.

George and Hermione had filled her in on everything to expect, from the house ghosts and the eerie professors to the new foreign students visiting for the tournament, so Ella was pretty sure she wouldn't faint upon seeing anything extraordinary (who was she kidding, she was on the verge on collapsing already).

Hermione had finished her make-up and moved to sit next to her with an exaggerated sigh. Ella grinned and tilted her head towards the mirror, silently asking for permission to see her appearance. Hermione nodded and watched Ella jump up from her seat and run to see her reflection.

Upon hearing a gasp, Hermione followed and grinned at Ella's shocked expression. Her eyes were trailing all over her face and body in the mirror, incredulous of how different, how pretty she looked. She gently lifted her hand and pulled on a loose curl before releasing it and letting it bounce back. Her eyes trailed over the smooth fabric of her midnight blue sleeveless dress. The dress accentuated her dainty shoulders and small waist where it clenched in slightly before flowing down. The front of her dress was shorter than the back, showing a glimpse of her slim olive legs. Ella was amazed of her appearance, refusing to believe the awestruck girl in the mirror looking back at her was in fact her.

The girls made their way out the kitchen after bidding goodbye to the house elves – Bonnie was close to tears as she terribly wished to Merlin that Ella would have the Cinderelly night of her dreams – and made their way to the entrance of the Great Hall.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, a head of red hair came into view catching the attention of both girls as they determinedly avoided the gazes of the other students.

With a gentle shove from Hermione and a whispered, "Go," Ella was off.

* * *

George hated dress robes. Absolutely, definitely, explicitly, one hundred percent _loathed_ them.

He sat in the plush arm chair in the common room fiddling with every inch of his dress robes, desperately trying to loosen them or elongate the arms somehow as his two best friends stood by the stairs waiting for their dates.

Only twenty minutes prior he had endured endless questioning by Fred and Lee, both of whom were adamant in finding some information on George's mystery date to no luck. Every time one of the boys would repeat a question George would answer with a knowing smile and wink, continuing to dress himself before mentioning the wrath they would surely endure if their dates had to wait for them.

"Oh come on! All we want to know is what house she's in! For fuc-"

"Oi! George, seriously now. We _need_ to know! What colour is her hair at least?"

"Is she even a she?"

"We solemnly swear we won't judge you mate."

"What year is she in?"

"Oh dear Merlin, please tell me you didn't invite a second year! Mate, what the hell are you thinking?"

"Seriously Fred, if he asked a second year the entire country would know about it by now, you know how loud they are when they're excited."

"We promise not to take the mickey if she's ugly."

"I'm making no such promise! Unless you really like her that is, then I guess I could cut her some slack- George! Stop ignoring us you git."

That pretty much sums up George's day. Wherever he went either Fred or Lee would point at random girls and ask if she was 'the one'. This, of course, led to many blushing girls with aggravated boyfriends or dates. But George was going to make them wait. His date was sure to be beautiful all dolled up (she was pretty even in her uniform!) and leave every boy gob smacked. They had even resorted to jumping out from behind statues and tapestries in hopes of shocking answers out of George.

"Why is it taking so long for the girls to put on some bloody dresses?! Oi, Alicia, move it woman!" Lee yelled up the stairs attracting the attention of most of the boys in the common room who were silently agreeing and huffed in frustration.

"Fred, how the bloody hell did you fix your dress robes? Mine's trying to strangle me, I swear!" George wheezed as he pulled at his collar which seemed to tighten around his throat every second.

"Magic mate. So," Fred casually stretched out the word, "she's not in Gryffindor otherwise your arse would be over here. Who is she Georgie?! Come on, spill already."

George internally slapped his hand to face and flicked his wand over his clothes, fixing them until they were comfortable. Once he was able to breathe, he hopped out of his seat and strolled over to his friends before slugging an arm around both their shoulders.

"Boys. Shut it. Patience. You will know when you see her because she will be b-e-a…utiful," George's gaze shifted to the top of the girls stairs where he saw Alicia stumbling down the stairs grumbling at Lee, however his eyes were fixated on Angelina who was trailing behind her bubbly friend (who was anything but bubbly at the moment) laughing lightly.

Lee removed himself from George's arm and swooped Alicia into a hug, lifting her gently which seemed to quell her anger at him from hurrying them up. George took this moment to take in the appearance of Angelina Johnson. She was wearing a deep purple dress that hugged her soft curves and seemed to shimmer in the light. George imagine himself running his hands over the velvety material as they swayed across the dance floor together, chest-to-chest. Her toned legs (_thank Merlin for Quidditch_) appeared to last for miles in her small silver heels. Her face was almost bare, the light make-up heightening her natural beauty to stand out more. All in all, she looked like a goddess gliding down the stairs gracefully towards him.

Fred noticed the magnetic effect Angelina had on George and quickly turned to his brother before he was caught drooling.

"Last chance brother, you want her, she's yours," Fred said blocking Angelina from George's view. He hated stealing her from George but he hadn't intended on it happening, and if he could, he would change the circumstances in a heartbeat. Fred assessed his twin's features, watching his face to see if any emotions were being betrayed through them.

George, always the calmer twin, felt the corners of his lips lifting at the sweet gesture of his brother. He was so tempted to push Fred out the way and smother the girl of his dreams in front of everyone but knew nothing good would come of it.

"S'alright Freddie," George lightly shook his head and stepped back, "I believe you're forgetting my girl already. Come on, let's go and I'll introduce you."

Fred nodded and patted George on the back before holding his arm out, beckoning Angelina to join them once she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, well, looks like the Weasley boys clean up nicely," Angelina remarked, eyeing up the twins as she linked her arm through Fred's.

"Did you expect us not to? Oh, how you wound us our dear darling Johnson!"

"Are you sure you've seen us before? Dashing-"

"Strong-"

"Muscly-"

"Incredibly handsome-"

"Sexy-"

"And practically edible. Ring a bell Angie?" Fred ended with a wink. Lee and Alicia had by now joined them and they made their way out the common room.

"I thought you boys would've realised Oliver's left," Angelina smirked teasingly.

"Ouch Johnson! That was just cruel," Fred held his free hand to his heart.

"Even Wood can't keep up with our debonair Ange. Besides, where d'you think he learnt it from?"

Angelina barked out a laugh and leaned her head on George's shoulder on her right. He couldn't help but inhale a whiff of her sweet shampoo (a mixture of a sweet flower and her natural subtle scent of apples) as it wafted through the air around them.

"Oh Georgie, of course he'd learn it from the masters themselves!" She lifted her head as they rounded the corner to the Entrance Hall and searched the crowd around them, seeming to look for something before questioning him. "George, where's your date then?"

"I'm going to wait for her by the Great Hall. You'll all get to meet her, I'm sure you'll get on great."

"Oh. Ok then. Well, Fred and I will wait in the Hall for you. Come on Fred, hurry before all the good tables are gone." And in a flash she was gone, dragging Fred behind her who looked back making wild nonsensical gestures to his twin before disappearing.

"Looks like it's just us three now," Lee said.

"So who's your date George?" Alicia asked, fidgeting and rubbing her arms, the sleeveless green dress offering her no protection from the cool air blowing in from the open doors.

"She'll be here soon Alicia," George replied, looking around as he noticed more couples gathering around.

"What do you reckon the second tournament's going to be then?" Lee asked. The trio then began to converse about the upcoming tournaments and how Harry was sure to win when Lee let out a low whistle, staring at something behind George.

"Wow. I see what you meant now George, she is b-e-a-utiful-_ow!_ Alicia!"

George turned to face the swarming entrance with many of the occupants now staring wistfully in their direction (the boys doing much of this although there were a few girls ogling…) and a lot of glares pointing towards a figure. He looked down.

_Wow._


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 2 to the Yule Ball! I honestly had no idea where I was going with this so I let my fingers do the telling. And, being the morning person that I am, decided to grace you all with the pleasure of an update before drowning myself in revision for my exams (and reading stories, but lets not tell anyone that) for the duration of the day. Some more Fred in this but don't worry, after this chapter there'll be plenty more Fred. (I still have no idea where I'm going with this story so feel free to give me any ideas.)**

**I hope you all enjoy. Sorry for any mistakes or boringness, I have rushed this slightly to start on my work. Please do leave criticisms or whatever.**

**Has anyone read 'The Fault in Our Stars'? Finished it in a day. LOVED IT. Cried my eyes out (and I don't cry easily!) John Green, I salute you and your cracking weirdness. That is all.**

She descended the stairs, using the banister to balance her footing (why had she agreed to wear heels?) leaving Hermione to wait for her date behind a pillar before making her entrance.

She kept her eyes locked on the stone floor as the students stared at her, making her way to where she saw the vibrant head of red hair moments ago. She made her way down the last few steps, bunching one side of her dress in one hand to avoid tripping on it and hesitantly looked up.

Her chest squeezed painfully as her heart thudded violently when she noticed several pairs of eyes were on her, both boys and girls alike. Ella refrained from biting her lip (Hermione was sure to scold her if she saw her lips absent of lipstick or whatever) and carefully surveyed the mass of people scattered around before landing on the gangly red head.

In a desperate attempt to be in the company of someone familiar, Ella strode towards the group of people with George, noticing how different he looked in his dark dress robes. (_Wow, how different a person can look from the rear!_) A dark skinned boy was the first to notice her and alerted his peers to the oncoming girl. One by one, they all turned. Feeling incredibly self-conscious she avoided all their gazes and locked her eyes with the familiar sparkling brown that bought a smile on her face instantly.

"Ella! Oh wow. I mean- er, so glad you could make it!" George said. He knew Ella would've looked pretty but he didn't know she could look so…so…_wow._ "I was afraid you left after you saw how handsome I looked from a distance and couldn't bear to be so close to me in fear of jumping my bones," George winked after pulling Ella in for a brief hug, turning back to his usual self.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world Mr Weasley," Ella shyly smiled back, keeping her eyes on George as she felt other quizzical gazes on her. Sensing her discomfort, George pulled her to his side and introduced her to his friends, starting from Lee, who kissed her hand in return, emitting a blush from the nervous girl, then moving on to Alicia, Lee's date, and Katie with hers who had just joined the group and returned the sentiments with a smile.

"George, where's Angelina?" Ella recalled a conversation where George had mentioned his crush being asked to the Ball by someone else and couldn't help but ask as to where she was. She would have thought she'd been waiting with them as they were all close friends and was therefore shocked by her absence. They entered the Great Hall in their pairs.

"Angelina and Fred went in earlier. Well, more like Angie dragged him away to get a good table. I'm sure she just wanted some alone time with him."

George led them to the table with Lee and Alicia, peering out the corner of his eyes for a glimpse of long ginger hair to no luck. All the while, Ella was capturing the wonderful atmosphere of the Great Hall, staring at everything with utter amazement like a child seeing a display of fireworks for the first time. It was decorated to resemble a Winter Wonderland, with intricate ornaments and decorations littered around the walls and tables. Twinkling fairy lights dotted all around the Hall enchanted the room with a handsome glow. Many other students were gazing at the magnificent remodel of the Great Hall, taking in the magical decorations. She almost forgot she was a squib, what with being surrounded by so much magic.

A pat on the arm grabbed her attention and she turned to converse with George and Lee, laughing at his imitations of professors and students alike.

"So, Ella," Lee began after calming down from his laughing fit from Alicia's impersonation of a Professor Trelawney. "We haven't seen you around before and you're charming date hasn't mentioned you at all for some bizarre reason. Tell us about yourself."

"What would you like to know?" She asked.

Lee thought for a moment, crossing his arms and stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression. "Birthday?"

"11th June."

"Favourite food?"

"Chocolate of course."

"Favourite colour?"

"Purple." This caught George's attention from searching the Great Hall again and his mind instantly went to Angelina and how her dress complimented her skin so greatly. _Oh yes, purple is definitely good,_ he thought to himself with a smile.

After divulging in light chatter for a while, the champions arrived in the Great Hall and began the tradition of opening the dance. George grabbed Ella's hand and pushed his way through the crowd to allow her a good view of the dancing couples. His eyes darted through the emerging crowd looking for the couple that had been on his mind all evening but they were still nowhere to be seen. He sighed in frustration before watching the dancing champions.

She smiled in awe as the couples gracefully swirled around the dance floor. The beautiful blonde was by far the most experienced and her movements flowed so elegantly she would have put a full blooded veela to shame. Ella grinned and laughed as she caught Hermione's eye. The girl in question blushed profusely and giggled as her burly date lifted her into the air and gently swooped her back down. George pointed out a rather awkward dancing couple, who he informed her was the famous Harry Potter. His movements were stiff and restricted (although he was being dragged around the dance floor by his Indian date), his eyes swimming over the crowd rather than looking at the girl in his arms. The thought of The Boy Who Lived against Voldemort looking fearful of dancing was humorous enough to turn George and Ella into hysterical messes.

Soon after, Dumbledore and another familiar professor joined the dancing couples, waltzing to their hearts content. Students took this as their cue to drag their dates onto the dance floor, many people tripping over each other's feet in the process.

Ella found herself being dragged onto the dance floor among the other students and she collided into a hard chest. She looked up to see George grinning down at her and stepped back slightly with a blush covering her cheeks.

"My dearest Ella," George bowed from the waist down and held his hand out, putting on a mock Shakespearian voice, "would thou do me the honour of gracing myself with a dance?"

She couldn't stop the giggle escaping her lips, "why of course Mr Weasley." She put her small hand in his and was instantly whisked off her feet in a dance.

Her hand quickly found its way onto his broad shoulder and gripped it with incredible force as George spun her around. His hand was light on her waist and he couldn't help running his fingers along her side every few moments, earning a hearty laugh from his tickling.

"I don't think I mentioned this before but you look absolutely amazing Ella," George said as they twirled around the dance floor.

"Thank you George," she smiled shyly, "you look rather dashing yourself."

"Oh I know love," he winked, "you'll have to make sure you keep your eye on me otherwise there'll be a group of girls flocking to get a piece of me."

Her head was thrown back as she let out a laugh. The song soon ended and they made their way back to their table resuming their previous seats. Moments later Lee and Alicia joined them again, both of which were breathing deeply.

"What happened to you two?" George asked, smirking at his friends. "It was only a waltz."

"This idiotic dunderhead," Alicia yelped, jabbing her finger in Lee's chest, "decided to forgo McGonagall's dancing and instead chose to swing me around the entire hall."

"Come off it love, you can't say you didn't enjoy it," Lee grinned, leaning into Alicia's face.

"Lee," she scoffed, pushing him back and picking up a menu, "that was the first bloody dance and I'm already sweating my arse off thank you very much."

"You're welcome."

"Enough lovebirds," George interrupted the bantering couple while surveying his menu, "Now how does this work."

Ella lifted her own menu and looked over the options. Most of the dishes were foreign to suit the requirements of the other students but she recognised a few of them.

"Ella-aaaaaa," George whined, "help!"

She smiled at his pout and placed her menu back down on the table.

"Duck," she said, keeping her eyes on George. He furrowed his eyebrows which promptly shot up as roast duck breast appeared on a gold plate in front of Ella. Juicy and crisp. Mmm.

Lee's eyes widened in surprise as he scanned the menu and called out, "Beef."

George followed suit and yelled, "Beef!"

Alicia and Ella stared on as their dates stuffed their mouths full of the food spreading crumbs all over the table. Alicia gingerly checked the menu and wrinkled her nose before copying Ella with the duck.

The group ate in silence for a few moments, humming noises of approval before discussing the upcoming tournament once again.

"Angelina!" Alicia said as a girl approached the table. "Where the hell have you been?"

The dark skinned girl waved over a chair and sat down. Ella could tell why George had the hots for her. "Dancing. I didn't even realise the time." She dropped the menu almost as fast as she picked it up before calling out, "bouillabaisse."

"Where's Fred Ange?" Lee asked.

"Dunno, I told him I was coming to look for you guys but he just disappeared."

Angelina opened her mouth to speak but her eyes fell on Ella and she smiled. "Hi, you must be George's date. I'm Angelina."

"Oh, hello. I'm Ella," Ella replied shaking Angelina's hand across the table.

George shot out of his seat. "I think I just saw Fred." And he was gone.

Ella fidgeted uncomfortably as the girls became engrossed in another conversation. Her eyes strayed over the occupants of the Hall – few people began dancing again while others remained seated, waiting for the surprise band to arrive – looking for the comfort of George or Hermione.

"Ella!" a voice called. She turned to see Lee standing by her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Dance?"

"Um, sure."

Lee led Ella over to the dance floor. Angelina and Alicia immediately began discussing the new girl in hushed whispers. "I've never seen her before. Is she from Beauxbatons?"

"No clue. George never mentioned anything."

"Bit quiet ain't she."

"I guess. Probably nervous to meet us, what with us being George's best friends 'n all."

"Hm, yeah. Think they're a thing?"

"No. They didn't seem close enough. So, how was Fred?"

"Amazing. Dances a bit wild but nothing to complain about so far…"

"Except…?"

"He's not George."

Lee wasn't so bad at dancing. Not as fast as George but definitely more graceful (do boys mind being called graceful?) The two chatted during their dance but Lee delved no further into where Ella was from. He respected George's wishes not to bug her so he kept his mouth shut. But it was definitely bothering him. It was like a plaguing itch demanding to be scratched but you know you couldn't in fear of it becoming worse.

The song finished and they began walking back to their seats. The 'The Weird Sisters' arrived on stage and a crowd formed. Lee whisked off Alicia immediately and disappeared into the crowd. Ella looked over to George, who was seated between the girls, and pointedly looked over to Angelina.

"Angie," George called. "Care to dance?"

"What about Ella?"

"I'm really tired, you guys go," she said.

"Okay," George winked over his shoulder to Ella and all but ran to the front of the crowd with Angelina giggling behind him.

Ella recalled a work party she attended with her parents when she was a child as she sat on her own at the table away from the commotion of the dancing students. It was sophisticated and very adult-like, not similar the Yule Ball at all, but as she watched Lee and George and Angelina and many other couples dancing with flailing legs and arms, her mind thought back to her dances with her father: he would twirl her around in fast circles – much too fast to the slow music – and their laughter would echo around the room.

But they wouldn't care. They paid no mind to the adults glaring at them for disrupting their arduous discussions of work and on the etiquettes formal dinner parties mapped out by the higher ranking purebloods in society. In those moments they were just a father and daughter dancing together.

She walked over to the punch table to get a drink to distract herself from her past. That was then, this was now, and she had no father. All that was left were fond memories tainted by the wickedness of the world.

Ella sipped on her drink and saw a familiar red head approach the table further down.

"I thought you were with Angelina," she said as she walked over to him.

The boy looked up. "I was."

"And where is she now?"

"Dancing with some other bloke I presume?" he poured himself a drink.

"And you're okay with that?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you were dying to dance with her."

"I was?" he smirked, drinking out of his cup, glancing down at Ella as he leaned against the table.

"Are you feeling okay? You didn't get whacked in the head out there did you?" Ella placed the back of her hand against his forehead. The red head smiled and put his drink down before grabbing her hand from his head and pulled her to the dance floor.

Before Ella could ask he whispered in a low voice, "Dance with me." He took the cup out of her hand and placed it on a nearby table, held her waist close to him and danced. Ella felt strangely uncomfortable during this dance which was nothing at all like the dance she shared with George earlier. She was tensed and her movements were steely as he pushed her back and pulled her in, twirled her around waved his arms around, nearly knocking out other dancing couples.

Despite his erratic dancing which was begging for laughter, she felt odd in his presence but they continued to dance.

One song finished, two then three when they finally stopped. The students were still gathered around the make shift stage but paid no mind to the heavily breathing couple staring at each other. Ella wasn't sure but his eyes seemed different in the room. She blamed it on the lighting that one eye appeared a familiar sparkling brown while the other had flecks of green (Ella was surprised at their close proximity that she could even notice the hazel eye). Their chests rose and fell with each deep breath they took, forcing their lungs to take in great heaps of air, restoring what the dancing had taken.

He brushed her hair behind her ear and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. His face seemed to be nearing Ella's but she pushed herself away too fast to dwell on it. "I, I need some fresh air." He looked down at her and grabbed her hand, leading her out into the Entrance Hall by the doors where the air instantly chilled them. They passed by Hermione and two boys on the way as they bickered at a table. Ella's worry glance was ignored as Hermione heatedly discussed with them.

Ella stepped away and breathed in huge gulps of air. Her skin prickled in goose bumps from the winter air but she closed her eyes and focused on slowing her heart.

The Weasley leaned against the wall on his side, crossing his arms over his chest and his ankles as he observed the girl in front of him. He didn't recognise her so he assumed she was from Beauxbatons. But she looked nothing like the French girls that paraded around Hogwarts in their shimmery blue robes. She wasn't as flirty or as graceful as them either so she had to have come from Hogwarts. But he had never seen her before. And surely he would have, how could someone not notice her? She was beautiful but in a subtle way. Unlike Angelina or Alicia, her appearance didn't scream 'beauty' or 'fit'. Her features were delicate yet stood out amongst the crowd. He had never seen someone so...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He looked back up to see her looking back worriedly. Her head was tilted slightly to the side. _How adorable,_ he thought.

He pushed himself off the wall. He walked closer to Ella but she stepped back again. Her heel fell back from her shoe and just as she was about to fall he held her forearms and pulled her up. The close proximity was ignored as her the pain in her ankle clouded over her thoughts. "Ow," she grimaced as the pressure on her ankle shot pain up her leg.

"Hey, hey I got you, just lean on me," he wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned into his side, hobbling on one foot. She looked down at her foot and saw the heel of her shoe had broken and her ankle taking on an angry shade of red as it swelled. "Oh, that doesn't look good," he remarked as he followed her gaze.

"Damn you Hermione for these blasted shoes," Ella mumbled to herself. The red head made no move to show he heard her but recorded the information for later questioning. If Hermione gave her shoes she must be a Gryffindor. "Now I really feel like Cinderella."

"Where's your wand?" he asked. She looked up at him disbelievingly.

"What?"

"Your wand. Where is it? I need to heal you," he clarified. He was confused at the daggers she was glaring up at him. He noted she looked terrifying despite her short height (in comparison to him) and her limping form.

"That's not funny."

"I wasn't trying to be. Let me help you," he walked her over to the stairs before seating her down and sitting himself down on a step below.

"Use your own wand," she replied crossly. He furrowed his eyebrows at her cold demeanour once more before removing his wand from his robe pocket and pressing it to her ankle, ignoring her hiss in pain as he applied a bit more pressure than necessary.

"How's that now?" he asked once the redness calmed down. The swelling was still present but he let it be, unsure on how to heal it.

"Better," she said eyeing her ankle. Ella looked at him before smiling slightly. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Anything to help a damsel in distress," he winked, emitting an eye roll from her.

The two smiled at each other for a moment longer, the aforementioned heated discussion forgotten. Ella noticed a few differences to him. His eyes, which she had perceived earlier, his hair parted slightly more to the side than usual and his face, rounded a smidgen more. Her eyes were definitely not deceiving her, she realised.

He opened his mouth, "So-"

Yelling broke off the rest of his speech and they both turned to see the commotion. Hermione exited the Great Hall with the two boys, yelling out at them. The trio ignored everyone, completely immersed in their argument as they climbed the steps. With a final shout from Hermione, the boys left to their common room and Hermione collapsed on the steps further up from Ella.

She rose to her feet and limped over to her friend. A hand on her arm made her turn around to come face-to-face with the red head. "I'll see you later Weasley. Thanks for being with me. Now go, spend your last moments with Angelina and win her heart." She patted his arm and sat next to the sobbing Hermione, hugging her close to her side, cooing sweet murmurs into her ear,

He walked up to his friends in the Great Hall, all of whom were standing, waiting for Fred.

"Mate! There you are. We've hardly seen you all night," Lee exclaimed.

Fred shrugged. "Been dragged away by girls all night of course. Who would pass up a chance to dance with the better looking famous Weasley twin?" His response triggered a mumble from Alicia similar towards, "more like infamous pretentious bastard," to which he glared. He looked over to George and saw his arm around Angelina snuggly. "When did this happen, eh Georgie?" Fred let out a low whistle, gesturing to his arm. George winked in reply followed by, "I don't kiss and tell."

"Don't worry brother, save it until we get to our dorm." Angelina glared at Fred who looked on innocently.

"Can we go please? My feet are _killing_ me!" Alicia said trudging towards the doors. Lee ran up behind her and swept her off her feet – literally, swung his arms under her knees and swooped her up into his arms, the Romeo – and ran out, all the while laughing maniacally.

Fred walked out with George and Angelina. He eyed the stairs and felt his stomach drop in disappointment from the absence of Hermione and the girl. _Didn't even get her name. Git_.

He collapsed into bed upon reaching his dorms and dropping his robes on the floor and proceeded to listen to George's tale on how he swooned Angelina.

He heard George voice his thoughts to Lee which echoed around in his mind before succumbing to the peace of a long awaited sleep. He heard, "I wonder what happened to Ella."

_Ella._


End file.
